Flat Out Returns at Monmouth Park Saturday
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On Saturday, July 7th
two graded stakes races will be run at
Some of racing’s best won
the Meadowlands Cup when it was run at its original distance of a mile and a
quarter. Spectacular Bid won in 1979
on his way to the three year-old championship. Wild Again took the Cup in 1984 and went on to win the Breeders’
Cup Classic. Alysheba was victorious
in 1988 and became Horse of the Year.
The United Nations, which
was first run in 1953, has been won by 13 horses which have gone on to earn the
grass championship. To name a few of them: Round Table 1957 and 1959, TV Lark 1960, Mongo 1962 and 1963,
Fort Marcy won in 1969, Dr. Fager 1968, and Manila 1986 and 1987. Since the move to Monmouth the significant winners have been: Better Talk Now 2005 and English
Channel 2006 and 2007.
The 2012 edition of the Monmouth
Cup marks the sixth time the race has been contested at the Jersey Shore. The
Monmouth Cup was not run in 2011, but this year features the return of Flat Out. Flat Out will be ridden in
his first start for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott by Jersey girl Rosie Napravnik. Last year, while trained by Charles "Scooter" Dickey, Flat Out won
the Suburban (G2) with a 113 BSF and the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1). In between those two wins were second
place finishes in the grade one Whitney and Woodward. In 2011 Flat Out won
$1,195,283. The six year-old
Flatter horse was transferred to Mott after two lackluster performances at
Gulfstream. Flat Out has not run since February has been training in Saratoga.
Flat Out faces five rivals
who are stakes winners, but only one has a graded stakes victory. Todd Pletcher sends out a pair of challengers in Rule and Sloane Ranger. Pletcher talked
about his two runners, “We gave Rule a bit of a freshening after last year to
gear him up for the summer and fall campaigns. I think the distance of a mile
will be good for him in his first start back. San Pablo is a nice horse who is
very competitive and always runs hard. He’s in good form now.” Rule has won over $1,000,000 in a
career, which includes grade three wins in the Delta Jackpot and the Sam F.
Davis.
The United Nations last year featured a
third place finish for 2011 grass champion Stacelita,
who was making her first American start against the boys. That race was won by the Monmouth Park
based Teaks North. This year’s field features a field of seven, which are all
stakes winners and five of them have won graded events.
Pletcher trainee Turbo Compressor comes in to the race after winning the $500,000 Colonial Turf Cup in Virginia. Jersey
Joe Bravo, who is a master turf rider, guided Turbo Compressor to a gate to
wire victory.
The now eastern based rider Joel
Rosario will ride Brilliant Speed for trainer Tom Albertrani.
Brilliant Speed’s last win came in September 2011 in Saratoga’s Saranac (G3).
Since then he has been battling against the nation’s best turf horses.
David Flores comes to NJ to ride Slim Shadey. The horse has three
straight second place finishes after winning the San Marcos (G2) at Santa Anita
in February. In the May Turf Classic at Churchill Downs he finished a half-length
ahead of Brilliant Speed on a wet grass course.
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